mum didn't name sister as beneficiary of life insurance
Please note I am based in the uk in case this affects this issue. Sorry it's a long one!
My mum passed away recently and she left a will that stated me, my brother and sister get shares of her house. We didn't think there was anything more left in her estate other than this. However, recently I received a letter from her employer stating that she was part of a scheme which meant she was covered by life insurance policy if she died whilst working 4 x her salary. She only named me and my brother as beneficiaries of this scheme.
There was a considerable amount of money left, I told my sister about this and told her that me and my brother would like to share some of this with her. However my sister wants a third of the money, and this was not what we were expecting.
Our circumstances are that my sister is ten years older than us, she has a fantastic and well paid career as does her partner of 20 years and she has a large property and has a small family (my mum also left some money to her children). Me and my brother are both still young so have not started our families yet and we both still live at home.
I am thinking that my mum took this into account and thought about this decision not wanting us to struggle through life and knowing that my sister is financially secure. However, my sister though thinks my mother must have made a mistake and forgotten to include her name in the policy. She says because it is not in the will my mum must have forgotten about it and it doesn't count that her name isn't on it she still has rights to her share!! I do not agree!
At the moment as it stands I am just going to give her what she is asking for but I would like to pay off the mortgage on the house first before we split it, as this expense is causing me some strain and I feel it will be better in the long run if it is paid off now. However my sister does not want to do this!!
She is really mad at me, I don't want us to fall out about this I just want it to be fair. At the moment it doesn't seem fair, it seems as though my sister is only thinking of herself and not us. She has more to gain from this right now whereas we are thinking of our long term future, she says that it is the here and now that matters and not the future as we might die tomorrow!!
I really don't know what to do, I am so upset that my mum isn't getting her wish and that my sister is being so unreasonble and greedy, next week I am going to see a financial advisor and a solicitor for advice. But if you can, can you please answer the following questions I have?
As this scheme was not included in the will, do me and my brother still have rights over the money?
How do I try and talk my sister round to my way of thinking?
If I pay the mortgage off with my money share will I get it back when the house sells or will I lose out in the end?
Am I being fair, because at the moment she has emotionally blackmalled me into thinking I am the one who is at fault here, in fact she called me a controlling b****!?
Thanks for reading :)